Encore! - London, UK

Wow, I need to get off my butt and update more often. It's been over a month (over 7 months...) since I've last logged my travels... jeebs. Since then I have gone to a few nice places and can't wait to write about them!

Let's start off with the next overseas I went to after Seoul.

Remember I made a to-do list when I go back to London? Well lucky me, I was able to fly out there again back in April.
I deadheaded to Calgary and worked with a very nice Calgary crew. We worked on the Airbus 330 (one of my favourite planes) and the economy cabin was pretty much half full ... so it was nice and sweet :).

I was the float position, which I found to be my favourite position for overseas flights, because you get a taste of both executive and economy. It also keeps you really busy which makes time go by faster ;)

Nothing much to say about the flight, except that it was nice and smooth. It wasn't rainy this time when we arrived, and I knew exactly what my schedule was for this layover. I made sure that it would be much more productive compared to my first London layover.

When we arrived at the hotel, all the rooms were assigned to us already, and when I opened the door........... AGAIN I got stuck with 2 single beds. I wasn't having none of that, so I called concierge and asked to change my room. Luckily, the swap was quick and this room didn't smell of smoke. Plus, I asked for a travel converter in advance, so I was ready to roll.

Stop #1 - Borough Market, Tower Bridge
I ran to Baker Street, got my day pass and headed on over to London Bridge. The first place I stopped by was Borough Market... and I fell in l o v e..............

Chutney, Preserves, Piccalilli!

Since it was the weekend, there were crowds of people in and around the market. There were oodles of samples and it was nice to see so many local produce. I was totally ready to buy some piccalilli and chutney, but had no currency. I was even willing to risk going through British customs for this....! It was that good.

After the market, I walked towards the bridge. It was actually quite far even though I could see the bridge.. and when I finally arrived, I was starving. I took a few shots and wanted to quickly tour Buckingham so I can go to M&S for some grub.

Tower Bridge from afar

Buckingham Palace was amazing - like everyone, I wanted to catch a glimpse of Prince William & Kate... fat chance? haha

The golden gates were very pretty closer up, and I can definitely see how the Brits could get into the Royal Family so much. I even saw Kate's replica rings... and they look gorgeous on your finger! I was tempted but not that tempted to get one ;)

Buckingham Palace

Shopping is always delightful in London. Last time I went to Knightsbridge, and barely could afford anything. This time I went on my to the famous Oxford Street.

Oxford Street is definitely in a twenty-something's budget. It's a very long street of stores, boutiques and department stores offering a vast array of anything. Notable stores include Primark, Selfridges, M&S, River Island, and Uniqlo.




I would say besides Harrod's being located in Knightsbridge, I enjoyed shopping on Oxford much more. I have heard about how you can easily get pickpocketed in Oxford Street and I can see that. The streets are crowded at any time of the day, so watch your belongings, zip your bags and keep your passports close to you!

new name, new aspirations?

I sure haven't updated in a long time.... and I thought my name was a bit tacky... so I decided to be all creative and make up my own moniker for this blog.

More to follow!

My Little Version of "Passenger's Etiquette"

Although I have just started out as a flight attendant, I have travelled often enough to collect my own "little black book" of travel tips on the plane. For those of you who are starting to fly more often, or for anyone who has had a horrible experience, read on and maybe on your next flight, things will flow much smoothly!

~

1. Bring your own water.
While I work, I'm grateful that we get bottles of water instead of having to drink the tap water from flights (who knows the reason to why the water tastes a little funky???). Even when I travel leisurely, I make sure I buy a bottle of water (especially for long-haul flights) just so that I have a good supply of liquids just in case I fall asleep before the flight attendants come around for drinks and I stay hydrated throughout my flight.

*a little note: overseas flights usually provide bottled water to all passengers (first class and economy) so this would apply more to domestic and transborder flying.

2. Wear shoes when going to the lavatories.
...Unless you like feeling the grime and the occasional pee on the ground. If you really don't want to, consider bringing slippers.

3. Don't snap your fingers or grab the arm to catch the flight attendant's attention.
Word gets around to the other flight attendants and that's not a good thing!! Do you really think you would feel happy to help someone if they snapped their fingers at you or grabbed you? Straight up rude.

4. Wear comfortable clothing (esp. for long-haul flights)
I've seen many people who come in with heels and tight jeans, etc. for an 8 hour flight... you'll be sitting most of the time. Many people have complained about leg cramps and blood clots in the body during the flight. Try to wear comfortable clothing where you can move in around well (you can be stylin and comfortable at the same time), and it always helps to have a walk around the plane if you feel like you have a cramp coming on.

5. Bring a hand creme  
Soaps in the lavatories dry out your hands to the extreme! To prevent cracks and rashes on your hands, it may be good to pack a mini hand creme in your carry-on.

6. If you can, board the plane last.
When you board the plane last, on flights with many open seats - flight attendants usually try to accommodate you to a better seat that is more vacant. This could be a hit and miss -- some flight attendants do, and some don't, so you can always request this.

7. Don't push your limits on the carry-on bag size.
If you or the flight attendant can't shove your bag in the stowage bin, they'll most likely check it. You don't really have a say at that point so please try to respect the size restrictions - for the convenience of yourself, the flight attendants and the other passengers =)

8. Don't expect flight attendants to help you with your bags. (There is a reason!)
To conform to our own safety and health regulations, flight attendants aren't really supposed to help you with putting away the bags - it is up to us to risk our own safety to put the baggage up in stowage... so don't think we're standing there cause we're lazy!!

9. Be a mindful passenger.
This means being observant and reporting any suspicious or unusual activity in the plane, whether it be a broken light, an unidentified baggage, or a crack on the door. The more we know, the safer the flight.

10. Be a friendly passenger.
Imagine if you were sitting beside a person and both parties started off negatively (ie. baggage space hogging, putting belongings in the other person's spot, etc, etc, etc....) - it would just be plain awkward to sit together. What if you have to go to the lav and you're sitting at the window seat? To break any tension, be polite, smile, and if you'd like, strike up a small conversation with your seat buddy. Who knows, you guys could end up as good friends :)

11. Have a pen handy.
You'll run into custom forms, and we only have a limited supply of pens to give out.... so nuff said!

Hope this was helpful - Would love to hear some of your own tips! :)

"Seoul Searching" - Seoul, Korea

Yes I know, corny title... but it totally applies to me so HA! :) 

It's a late post, and I know I should keep up with it... but sometimes flights are exhausting!! I can't complain though; I've had 2 overseas in a row! 

I was fortunate to "win" this flight to Seoul through open bidding. Open bidding is where there is a list of open flights and need flight attendants with certain qualifications to fill those open flights. In addition, your schedule must be compatible with the open flight in order to get it.

-- For example, this particular flight needed a Korean speaking FA, and it departed on the 27th. I was Korean qualified, and my on call day started on the 27th (Thanks to my FA friends who bid for me!!)

I haven't been back to Korea since I was 6 years old for my grandfather's funeral.. and I've always longed to go back to my roots, meet extended family, see the evolution of a city after 18 years of absence. Needless to say, I was very excited.

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The flight to Seoul was HORRIBLE. My excitement was totally drained after having to tend to over a 100 children. I think the flight was around 85% children... so imagine kids around ages 9-13 running amok, asking for TONS of pop (we ran out of cola and sprite... and then they resorted to ginger ale and diet coke... wtf??) and a handful losing their passports. We were delayed in departure because one child lost their passport and no one knew where it was. I saw kids shoving their passports in the overhead bins, so I wasn't surprised... just shocked at how disorganized the school group leader was with these kids. The leaders got to sit in the executive first area, which I'm guessing is a part of their contract. Obviously this is a horrible idea... they cannot expect flight attendants to be keeping track with all these kids!! 

So long story short... the flight was super demanding. Senior FAs told me this isn't usually how Korean flights go; since it was the end of the winter break in Korean schools, there was the massive influx of students at this time of the year. I had to speak Korean for the entire flight which was a bit challenging, but I'm getting used to it. Korean people must love Korean-Canadians (aka gyopos) though... so many grandmas and grandpas were asking me so many questions on how I was so good at English and Korean and one even invited me to their home!! hahaha.. gotta love the elderly.

By the way, if you're on a Seoul flight... the bibimbap in economy class is pretty good.. just letting you know! ;) I wasn't able to try the executive first meals... next time for sure..!!

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We arrived at the hotel, and the Grand Hilton was nice! Although located a bit far off from the main areas of Seoul, the hotel shuttle took us to the subway station which was very convenient.

Grand Hilton Seoul

When I first arrived, I had no idea that I had to put my room card in this little compartment or else the lights would shut off in a few minutes. It's quite smart and efficient, since it helps you keep the card in place while you're in the room, and you could simply remove the card to turn the lights off before leaving the hotel. 

I tried contacting my friends in Seoul, and didn't realize that I had to include the area code for dialing. So.... I dialed and left messages to totally random numbers. I was going to try and meet my friend in the evening, but she lived a bit far away from where I was so it wasn't going to happen. My other friend ended work late, so we decided to meet for lunch and shop around during the day. 

By this time, I was starving. So I walked around the area looking for places to take out. It was a bit intimidating to enter the restaurants, because they were almost all places where you take your shoes off, sit down on the floor and eat. Not that I'm uncomfortable with this type of eating, but to stand there and have a bunch of people look at you at an open space was a bit awkward! I settled on one restaurant that specialized in rice and stew combos, but the only thing that I could take out was bibimbap... so I had bibimbap allllll day. Next, I stopped by 7/11 and bought some old-time snacks, such as banana milk, chicken chips and acacia gum. I pretty much passed out on my desk while eating.

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Next morning - I was up and ready to explore Seoul!! I was super excited to see my friend, since we haven't seen each other in a long time and it just felt so surreal to see each other in another country. My parents told me the metro would be too complicated for me to use, but it wasn't bad at all. I think even non-Korean speakers will have no trouble using the metro, since the machines provide English services as well and tell you how much you would have to pay to go to a certain stop. 

Ewha Women's Univ. Station

I met my friend at the Ewha Women's University Station, known for it's cute jewelry boutiques and abundant shopping. We ate at a restaurant where they served a 3 course meal (hot pepper shabu shabu, followed by kalgooksoo, a type of korean noodle, and then fried rice). The meal was around 10 dollars! I was astonished at the cheap food prices and how you don't tip in Korea. Apparently Korean people find it offensive... unless you tip an extravagant amount, they rather not have the extra cash. 

After the meal, we explored the shops - since it was a holiday (Samil Movement in Korea), some stores were closed. I didn't really buy much, just a few nail polishes, snacks and a scarf (10 dollars!!). It was nice to just browse and see what the stores had to offer. Some of the store owners were non-Koreans speaking in fluent Korean and that totally threw me off. It's kinda nice to see that though :)

TV Show Filming

We also had a chance to see a filming of a tv show around campus and since it was a holiday, a bunch of people swarmed the area and lined up to be in the show (the stars were apparently cooking and serving people with food..?). I got to peek at some pretty famous Korean tv stars (Noh Hong Chul and this other popular tv host), so that was a little treat!

All in all, my time in Seoul was super short but sweet. I was very sad to leave, but I'll be returning in April for vacation. ♥

*Recommendations

- Bring currency to Korea if you want to shop around - cash is a better form of payment especially in small boutiques.

- Don't drink tap water (this applies to all foreign countries) - I forgot that the restaurant served tap water and my stomach paid a dear price when I came back home...

- Don't be afraid to ask! -- Do you see the person in red in the Ewha picture? They are information guides and they can speak English, Japanese and Chinese apparently. Don't hesitate to ask if you're lost or want suggestions.

*Hotel Review (Grand Hilton Seoul)

I enjoyed my stay here! The hotel was very nice overall; my room was clean, spacious and well-equipped. The concierge was very helpful, spoke in English when I had difficulty asking certain questions and suggested good places to eat around the area. Converters were available upon request, and you also get a free drink coupon. The only downside is that if you want internet in your room, you would pay 19,800KRW for 24 hrs.. I was too tired to go down to the free wireless room so I paid. 

Some tea & crumpets? - London, UK

London was not my first overseas trip - it was actually Hong Kong, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, I wasn't able to take any pictures. I hope to visit (or maybe live there!) soon, and when that time comes, I will definitely give HK its deserving post.

But for now, let's talk British.

This London trip/work was a total fluke. I found out someone had gotten food poisoning and couldn't continue working, so they needed someone quick to fill in (YAY!) I was doing my thing around the house as any on-call flight attendant would when I got a call from scheduling..

"You're gonna be going to Edmonton to work a flight to London, then working back to Toronto, staying there for a bit and deadheading home."

Ok, sounds like an ordinary pairing.... I was naive to think that it was London, ON and not London, UK until I checked my schedule in detail. Oddly enough, I wasn't screaming in joy either; it wasn't a place that I was DYING to go see, but I've always wanted to visit once in my life, and it was a perfect opportunity!

**

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Working the flight to London was pretty smooth, since almost half the plane was empty. There were a lot of Punjabi speaking seniors, so I quickly msged my friend for some simple vocabulary. If you're curious, "water" in punjabi is "paani" ;) ...

Now our arrival in London was a bit weird. While we were descending, we were descending in loops (see image) - but nothing crazy happened, so it was ok!



After the arrival, deplaning, etc., the entire crew was tired; we fell asleep while waiting. Hotel bus picked us up, took literally an hour and half to drive to the hotel, booked our rooms and settled for the day.

Being a junior flight attendant and having never seen British soil, I was determined to set out on my own.

The concierge man recommended that I get a day pass and take the bus to stroll around, but little did I know this would be harder than it seemed. NO ONE sold the day passes (I was told to go to a red machine at every bus stop), and those didn't sell day passes... the bus drivers didn't sell them, and told me that the red machines sold them (lies).
I eventually walked my butt all the way to a tube station and got a day pass for the tube instead (yes, in the UK buses and tube tickets are separate).

Big Ben right outside the station

1st Stop - Westminster.
When I stepped out of the station, I was in awe of the Victorian architecture. I was right in front of the Big Ben, and to my left was the London Eye. I snapped a few shots and walked around to admire the buildings. I realize now that I should really take some more pictures..... I literally took 10 pictures in total in UK, and they're not all nice...

I was going to go see the Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, but I thought I wouldn't have enough time to shop so I skipped those... hehe..




 
 
2nd Stop - Knightsbridge.
I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Harrod's. I had a choice between picking Oxford (which had Selfridges!) and Knightsbridge, so I went with the latter.

Knightsbridge at night

Harrod's is HUGE.
Being in such a posh place, I somehow felt like I should have brought my own coat, because the coat for work looked so bulky and unflattering. I browsed through the makeup section, their men's section, handbag section (which by the way... the European brands were naturally cheaper than in Canada & US... I was so very tempted to buy a bag), the dedication area to Princess Di and Dodi, and my most favourite, their market.

Harrod's Market was so neatly laid out in different sections - From fine meats to cheese, a sushi bar to an ice cream parlour... it was heavenly. I wish I could have taken a picture, but I was too busy ogling at the delicious displays of goodness. I had my dinner (smoked meat on pretzel bread, bocconcini salad with lemonade) there and decided to bring back some breakfast.

I left Harrods with a travel tote and a bag full of yummy goodies and ventured out onto Knightsbridge and Sloane street. Checked out Topshop, euro H&M, Burberry, Harvey Nichols.. all very lovely. I also got to eat at my favourite, pret-a-manger, and peeked into a Marks & Spencer food store which they had some more affordable options to choose from. British food is $$$ in comparison to Canada! Even a McDonald's sandwich was approx. double the price.

All in all, it was a nice day trip, and I wish I could have seen more of the sights but I believe I will have another chance at London.
Next time, I will:
     - go visit Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar, Tower Bridge
     - check out Piccadilly Circus
     - visit some local markets
     - go to Oxford for shopping
     - experience an authentic English high tea (I really wanted to, just didn't want to go by myself.)

Any suggestions for my future London visit?

Anyways I wrote a lot - do most bloggers write this much about what happened during their day? Hope you enjoyed my first travel post - I promise to take better pictures. haha

xo

I will also be making a small recommendations and hotel reviews section - hope it helps.

*Recommendations:

- If you do know your way around UK, do take the buses - you can complete your checklist of sightseeing much faster and you can tell everyone that you went on the double decker bus!

- DUTY FREE! - Heathrow has a vast array of duty free stores (Burberry, Tiffany & Co., Mulberry and Harrod's to name a few) and worth buying your goods from at a discounted price.

*Hotel Review (Danubius Hotel Regent's Park) : I actually had to wait to switch rooms cause they gave me a room with 2 single (and they were TINY) beds...... when I got switched they warned me that someone had smoked in the room previously and may smell like smoke... great.

Their rooms were ok, the bed is a bit hard but can't complain. As for the washroom, I really did not enjoy stepping out of the very high tub and almost killing myself. Maybe my room was jinxed, but the sink was also clogged. The hotel also has a limited supply of outlet converters, so request one as soon as you check in. On the plus side, the location is quite nice (near Regent's Park), apparently the rates are alright for when you come on personal trips. The lobby was nice, service seemed to be consistent, not much noise throughout the stay.

Baby Step.

I decided to start this little blog for the sake of recording my voyages, and since my job has given me many opportunities to do so, why not share!! (hence my try at the creative title.. ha ha)

I've always wanted to start a blog - the problem with me was that I was always trying to figure out what TYPE of blog I should create.. and ideas led here and there........eventually all scattered. This time I decided to blend things together, to help myself keep up with the good work.

SO... this is all gonna be discovering the little treasures of different cultures around the world. And of course a few of my random thoughts and happenings here and there ;)

Hope you enjoy!